This week the Cruise Baltic member ports and destinations gathered in Gdansk, Poland for a summit discussing topics related to the Baltic Cruise Market. My take-aways from the diverse program is related to the Baltic cruise market development and the magics of story telling increasingly important for sales.
Statistics Show Positive Bounce in the Baltic Region
According to a very intriguing presentation held by Christian Savelli, Director Cruise Analysis, from Tourism Economics/Oxford Economics, the Baltic region is rebounding in 2026. The data presented confirms the same information we at Cruise Finland also have gathered, with expectations of an increase in calls by end of 2027 both on the south and west coasts in the Finnish cruise ports. As the Baltic has been losing market share within Northern Europe since 2019, it is positive to see that market areas within the Baltics that have been influenced in a tougher way, are gaining back the importance of cruise itineraries in the region.
Premium Segment Gives Boost
Interesting is that 73% of the Baltic itineraries will be represented by medium-sized and large cruise ships, whereas 9% of the ships sailing in the Baltics are smaller ones. According to analytics the Baltic market is accelerating and is being boosted by the premium segment. Especially the Eastern Baltic countries have been performing well, of which the Finnish cruise market is expected to grow by 2026 compared to 2025 by 29% in passenger volume.
Delivering Experience by Story Telling
The cruise experience in the Baltic is according to analytics best-in-class, however, to increase the percentage of likelihood to return we need to call out a bit louder and power up the story telling of our fine diverse destinations. Ryan Baird, Manager, Destination Communication, Guest Experience & Product Development from Holland America Line had an inspiring presentation about the importance of story telling in sales and marketing. As destination experts on board are constantly giving a close look at the places and the cultures they visit, there is an outstanding opportunity for us locals to transform the stories into sales to these story collectors. All brands promise to deliver an experience, and these small local storytellers might just add up to be the important differentiators.
Sources:
Christian Savelli Director, Cruise Analytics Tourism Economics, and Oxford Economics Company
Ryan Baird Manager, Destination Communication, Guest Experience & Product Development from Holland America Line
Cruise Finland has a very good networking program going on with cruise lines and we are very confident for the future. For more information, please visit www.cruisefinland.com
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